1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support apparatus and, more particularly, to such a support apparatus which achieves a heretofore unattained combination of dependability, durability and low cost and which has application to a wide variety of operative environments with particular utility in trellis structures employed to support vine borne crops.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of environments require the use of support apparatuses of various types adapted to control the arrangement and configuration of work objects for various operative purposes. For example, in the training and growth of commercial crops of various types, it is frequently necessary to employ a variety of types of support structures to retain the plant growth in particular configurations, or confined within predetermined areas, for purposes of practical commercial utility. These problems are particularly acute in the case of plant life, such as grapevines, wherein the otherwise largely random and uncontrolled growth of the individual grapevines requires careful segregation of certain portions thereof throughout the growing season in order to produce a commercially viable crop which can be harvested at an acceptable cost. Were it not for such horticultural practices, the crop produced by the grapevines would be inextricably intermingled with the foliage and canes of the grapevines precluding adequate growth, coloration and sugar content in the fruit and otherwise interfering with harvesting. As a consequence of the foregoing plant growth characteristics, a multiplicity of support structures have been employed from antiquity to segregate portions of the grapevines during predetermined periods of the growing season. For example, the simple grape arbor has been in usage for perhaps thousands of years for this purpose.
Modern horticultural practice in the case of grapevines calls for the use of trellis structures on which the grapevines are trained in rows. A plethora of different types of trellis structures have been developed in an effort to achieve the most effective cultural control of the grapevines suitable for large scale farming operations. For example, the Burton U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,998 discloses such a trellis system in which the objective is to segregate canes, foliage and crops into substantially discreet zones of growth. Conventional trellis systems have, to varying degrees, been successful in achieving certain of their objectives. However, they are otherwise susceptible to a variety of chronic deficiencies.
One such deficiency resides in the fact that the installation and maintenance of such large scale trellis structures is expensive. Typically, such prior art trellis structures require the stringing of trellis wires along parallel courses longitudinally of each row of grapevines. The trellis wires are retained in the intended positions by support structures which are mounted in upright, spaced relation in the row. The trellis wires are tensioned and must be secured on cross members of the support structures, which are typically fabricated of wood, or in some instances metal. Typically, the trellis wires are held in position by staples, or other such securing means. The installation and maintenance of such structures is expensive due to the necessity for using relatively skilled labor in the process. There is a continual need to adjust tile elements during assembly relative to several axes of reference. Upright posts must typically be adjusted relative to true vertical in two planes of reference. Cross members must be adjusted relative to true horizontal. The trellis wires must extend along individual courses parallel to the longitudinal axis of the row. The spacing of the trellis wires must be in accordance with the particular design scheme employed. The trellis wires must preferably define a plane in accordance with tile same design scheme. Any number of other design criteria may need to be followed. These same parameters apply in both installation as well as maintenance thereby requiring the use of semiskilled workers under close supervision.
When subjected to the rigors of the environment through one or more growing seasons, the trellis structures readily fall into disrepair. The staples deteriorate, loosen, or the trellis wires are otherwise released from their supports. The trellis wires become displaced from their intended locations. The support structures are typically displaced from their intended attitudes by the forces of nature, or by uneven tension due to release of the trellis wires, or simply due to deterioration. Other factors contributing to the dilapidation of such trellis structures include the uncontrolled growth of the grapevines themselves; the natural deterioration of the trellis structure due to dehydration of the wood portions thereof and oxidation of the metal portions; damage during the application of normal horticultural practices such as pruning, harvesting, spraying, irrigation and the like; and a myriad of other causative factors. The result is that maintenance is continually required.
Another deficiency typically experienced with prior art trellis structures results from the characteristic of the structures to be rather elaborate in design, making them particularly expensive and susceptible to damage. While the principal objective of such elaborate structures is more surely to achieve segregation of the portions of the grapevines heretofore discussed, the practical result is trellis structures which are ill suited over long operational lives to practical commercial utility.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have a support apparatus which has application to a wide variety of operative environments; which is particularly well suited to the raising of vine borne crops, such as grapevines, on a large commercial scale; which achieves an optimum combination of attributes having particular importance in large farming operations; which can be installed and maintained at minimum expense and yet which is of a strength and durability not heretofore achieved in the art; which can be installed and maintained with minimal instruction, but nonetheless with a precision not heretofore possible; and which is otherwise entirely successful in achieving its operational objectives.